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George Eastman House receives Museums for America grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services

For Release 2014-01-31

George Eastman House has received a grant for its Expanding the Teaching Museum: Photographic Process Videos project in the amount of $25,800 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Museums for America Program.George Eastman House is one of 186 museums across the nation to be awarded the IMLS grant out of 707 that applied for funding.

The funding will support the creation of nine short videos that will educate students, professionals, and lifelong learners on the history of photographic processes. Each four- to six-minute video will explain an important photographic process through hands-on demonstrations, behind-the-scenes footage of the museum, examination of collection objects, and conversations with curators, conservators and historians that situate the specific process into the wider worlds of art and culture. The need for expanded and visually engaging histories of photographic materials was proven by the success of a set of six videos on photographic processes that the museum produced in 2012, with more than 100,000 combined views on YouTube.

“George Eastman House is in a unique position to tell the stories of these photographic processes because of our remarkable collections, rich history of scholarship, and the world-renowned expertise of our people,” said Bruce Barnes, Ron and Donna Fielding Director, George Eastman House. “The addition of these nine new videos will supplement the existing videos and present a more complete history of photographic materials and processes. As we enter further into the digital era of photography it is important to educate the public on the material origins of this important medium.”

The processes covered in the new videos will include the early experiments of Schultze and Wedgewood, photogenic drawings, the Calotype negative, the salted paper print, and the lantern slide, among others. Videos will be available on the museum’sYouTube channel beginning this spring.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. Its mission is to inspire libraries and museums to advance innovation, lifelong learning, and cultural and civic engagement. IMLS grant making, policy development, and research help libraries and museums deliver valuable services that make it possible for communities and individuals to thrive.

About George Eastman House

George Eastman House holds unparalleled collections, totaling more than four million objects, of photographs, motion pictures, cameras and technology, and photographically illustrated books. Established as an independent non-profit institution in 1947, it is the world’s oldest photography museum and third largest film archive in the United States. The museum is in Rochester, NY, and includes the National Historic Landmark house and gardens of George Eastman, the philanthropist and father of popular photography and motion picture film. Learn more ateastmanhouse.org.